DaVinci Day Camp: Week Three
DaVinci Day Campers this week are focusing on aspects of good health. Children are learning about staying fit and how to make healthy but yummy food.  The American Heart Association's statistics are a wake up call to educate our children in healthy living. According to the AHA, 1 in 3 American children are overweight and at risk for serious health problems.

​Physical activity should be a part of everyone's day. The AHA recommends children have an hour of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day.  The goal is to keep the message positive and encourage good fun physical activities that kids like.  

Teachers will instruct campers how to read food labels so they can make good choices about the foods they eat. Reading labels is an activity the whole family can partake in.  Campers will also learn the importance of drinking water each day and how much is enough. At the end of the week campers will have assembled a recipe book with easy recipes they can prepare. The AHA has an online cookbook that can be downloaded to help families with healthy eating. Click the link provided to access the cookbook.

Movement is also a great part of a healthy lifestyle and the campers are learning new fun ways to stay healthy.  One fun exercise being taught is Tai Chi which has been practiced world wide for a long time and has many health benefits. It has been described as slow but constant motion. Benefits also include strength, flexibility and balance. An instructor was brought into Leonardo's so teachers, apprentices and campers could participate.

Next week , June 25-29 is DaVinci Creation week using art from Leonardo DaVinci to inspire campers. Italian born artist, Leonardo DaVinci lived from 1452-1519 and is considered one of the best Renaissance painters. Davinci is also known for many achievements including being a scientist and inventor. Some spots are still available for next week's camp. The application is online or can be picked up at the front desk. Let your child's inner artist come alive!

​​Dive into summer with a good book at DaVinci Day Camp! This week campers are on adventures based on the popular children's book series The Magic Tree House books by American author Mary Pope Osborne. She has written more than 100 books and is a huge supporter for children's literacy. Osborne traveled all over the United States as a child of an army family and lived in Oklahoma growing up. Maybe that is where she got the idea for her book Twister on Tuesday, which is Tuesday's theme! 

Each day of camp the children get to do hands on activities that are science and art focused. Also campers get to play outside at Adventure Quest, which is Leonardo's outdoor play space. Adventure Quest is the largest community built playground.
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Daily Themes:

• Monday's theme is Dinosaurs Before Dark and campers are exploring everything dinosaur. Real fossils are brought into the classrooms for the kids to see and touch, including fossilized Dino poo! 

Tuesday is Twister on Tuesday and campers learn about weather, including tornado's! 

​Wednesday is Pirates Past Noon and the activities are all things pirate..arrg matey.

Thursday is Vacation Under the Volcano. Campers learn about volcanoes with plenty of science and art activities.

Friday is Fun Activity Day in which teachers have special activities planned and at the end of camp the parent's are invited to see what their children learned all week long.  Each child is separated by grade and every classroom has an Oklahoma certified teacher and Apprentices which are teen helpers. Educator's are using their fun creative skills and the children are having a blast.  

DaVinci Day camp is open to children who have completed Pre-K through 5th grade. Children can go all day or half days for the week. All day campers should bring a lunch but healthy snacks are included in the morning and afternoon. Next week (June 11-15) the theme is Health, Fitness, Food, and Fun. This is the theme that parents have been asking for. Educators have pulled out all their creativity and planned an awesome week of fun around health. A yoga instructor is being brought in to instruct the campers that week. Also the children will learn to make yummy food with skills that are age appropriate. 

Besides learning some cool dance moves, campers do art and science projects during the week. Each day is different. Oklahoma state certified teachers include art and science lessons in planning the week. Weather permitting, the campers get to play outside in Adventure Quest each day and before the camp begins they play in the museum. Healthy snacks are included. For 26 years Leonardo's has been having camps that enrich and inspire children of all ages. DaVinci Day Camp Bodies in Motion is just the first week of eight different weeks of camp for children this summer. Each week has a different theme with activities based on the theme.

Next week, June 11-15 is Magic Tree House Week and will focus on a different book each day including activities about dinosaurs, pirates, volcano's and tornado's.